04/01, 4:00am
Celio Mulls iPhone Redfly
Celio is investigating a version of its Redfly mobile companions for the iPhone, a company representative has told Electronista at an event ahead of CTIA. While no definitive support has been planned, the device maker says it has already been experimenting with drivers that would let a connected iPhone use a Redfly's larger screen and keyboard. It's not certain whether this would include every feature or whether it would connect through Bluetooth, USB, or both.
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10/13, 12:40am
BlackBerry Pearl Flip
T-Mobile on Monday announced that the first BlackBerry flip phone – the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 -- is now available in the U.S., exclusively from T-Mobile. Originally announced in early September, the new BlackBerry Pearl Flip smartphone includes the same features as the BlackBerry Pearl, but adds a "spacious" keyboard for improved typing and dialing. The 3.6oz device is only 3.9" x 1.96" x 0.68" and will be available at launch in black (with a red variant planned for the "coming weeks"--as early as October 20, according to reports). The phone will cost $149.99 with a two-year contract.
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07/14, 10:40pm
Intel: major laptop news
Intel tonight formally introduced its Centrino 2 notebook platform Monday as well as a new 45nm, 3.06GHz Core 2 Extreme mobile processor, calling it the "highest performing" chip of its kind in the world. The company has additionally rounded out its announcement saying it will release eight new processors over the next 90 days, including the first quad-core mobile processors, and second-generation support for "ultra-thin" notebooks such as the MacBook Air.
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07/01, 4:00pm
T-Mobile intros HSUPA
T-Mobile UK is set to allow access to an HSUPA data network today that will let users upload content to the Internet via their cellular phones, becoming the UK's first wireless provider to do so across the country. HSUPA, or High Speed Uplink Packet Access, is the equivalent of the commonly-available HSDPA 3G data network except for its uploading abilities.
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06/23, 5:40pm
Apps Glide MiLife ShoveBox
- TransMedia on Friday unveiled a new version of its integrated contact and email management interface, Glide, adding support for Ymail, Rocketmail, and Yahoo Mail, integrating with them the service's advanced security and file sharing features. Glide allows users on Mac, PC, Linux, the iPhone, and other mobile devices to have one-login access to multiple email accounts, as well as word processor-like file handling, and support for images and large attachments.
- BravoBug Software released MiLife 1.1 ($15), an update to its journaling and note-taking software, adding over a dozen improvements to the application. MiLife now supports rich-text, with simplified photo importing, and AES-128 bit encrypted passwords.
- Wonder Warp Software unveiled ShoveBox 1.2 ($25), adding a "Save PDF to ShoveBox" option and basic AppleScript support into its productivity application. Shovebox also features several other enhancements and bugfixes.
- Macware on Friday announced version 1.8.000 of Logo Design Studio Pro ($60), adding to the application support for SVG files, a new browser, over 1300 pre-designed SVG objects, the latest version of the Sparkle framework, as well as other minor bug fixes and enhancements.
- Toronto-based Agile Web Solutions introduced 1Password 2.6.5 ($35), featuring improved support for Firefox 3 and the Safari 4 Developer Preview. The update also offers functionality for DEVONagent 2.3.1, OmniWeb Sneaky Peaks, and Flock 2, as well as other stability improvements.
- Dejal unveiled Simon 2.4.1 ($30), an update to its site-monitoring tool, which tests web pages, FTP, DNS, local and remote ports or volumes, and other services for changes or failures. The update offers several important fixes for the Port service and notifier plug-in, among others.
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06/09, 12:00am
Sling Mobile for iPhone
Sling Media today made official that it has been developing a version of its SlingPlayer Mobile software for the Apple iPhone. The software is described as a "proof of concept" developed using jailbroken iPhones but offers much of the same functionality as the released applications for Symbian S60, Windows Mobile, and other cellphone platforms. Users can navigate a Slingbox network streaming hub connected to a home TV feed and choose channels through a visual guide as well as stop or skip through playback.
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06/06, 11:55pm
3G iPhone impact mobile TV
Apple has a window of opportunity to make a significant impact on the mobile TV market with it's imminent launch of the 3G iPhone around the world, according to the latest report from Analysys Mason. Market research shows that many iPhone owners have accessed TV and video content, with greater frequency than subscribers using other types of mobile handsets. If a new iPhone based on AT&T faster "3G" network is announced during next week's Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) it could mean big things for the mobile TV market.
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05/27, 11:50pm
ASUS XG Station
ASUS on Monday unveiled a new ROG XG Station, a mobile video system designed for laptops, which hosts an Nvidia GeForce 8600GT graphics card with 256MB of DDR3 memory. The device attaches to a laptop through the Express Card slot to provide enhanced gaming performance on those with integrated graphics processors such as the GMA 950. The ROG XG Station earned the company an honorable mention at the Red Dot design awards.
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05/26, 6:15pm
MO-Call for iPhone
Morodo on Friday unveiled an iPhone-compatible web app version of its MO-Call low-cost calling service, allowing iPhone users to place international calls at low per-minute rates. The service requires an account signup at the company's mobile website, and Morodo is currently offering a free trial of the service for users in Canada, the US, and Hong Kong. International rates start at around 8¢ per minute for calls to land lines.
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05/15, 11:00pm
VIA 45nm, dual-core chips
Mobile processor manufacturer VIA on Thursday announced it would commence shipments of 45nm processor fabrications in 2009, as well as the company's first dual-core chips. DigiTimes writes that insiders have brought to light some of the specs, with the Isaiah-based dual-core processor allegedly featuring a 2GHz core frequency. The chip will sit on an 800 to 1333MHz bus, and will feature two pairs of 64KB L1 cache, and 1MB L2 cache.
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05/01, 6:15pm
Agenda
- ProjectForum 6.1 ($80) a wiki-based software application that supports collaboration within and between professional workgroups. Version 6.1 introduces a new "mail to wiki" feature, and improves support for outgoing email notifications. This version also includes many smaller enhancements and bug fixes. CourseForum 6.1, a version of the ProjectForum application targeted for online learning applications, was also released. [Download - 2.4MB]
- MacBreakZ 4.8 ($30) Personal Ergonomic Assistant designed tpromote healthy and productive computer use by reminding the user ttake a break. Based on your actual keyboard and mouse use and the time you have spent in front of the screen, MacBreakZ suggests rest and microbreaks at appropriate intervals. The new release adds Apple Help Book format documentation for mobile users. Previous versions relied exclusively on online documentation. [Download - 5.2MB]
- Agenda 4.0.2 ($40) an application that keeps track of your events and tasks, lets you enter your thoughts, and easily create calendar or journal websites. This update makes further improvements and fixes to the iCal import feature based on user feedback. [Download - 4.4MB]
- Today 1.0.1 ($15) a event and task management application for Mac OS X. Today shows you all the events and tasks that are stored in Apple's iCal in a small, easily navigable window. Today 1.0.1 is a maintenance release that addresses several minor issues reported users who downloaded the application since launch last week. Today 1.0.1 also adds the ability to create new tasks without a due date. [Download - 1.2MB]
- Vox 1.2 ($40) provides natural-sounding voices for multiple languages that work with virtually any Speech Manager compliant Mac OS X application. This release adds a pronunciation editor that allows users to add abbreviations or change the pronunciation of words. It also introduces a number of new voices and languages: Eliska and Sabrine for Czech, Ania for Polish, Snorri for Icelandic, Sanna for Finnish, Elin for Swedish, and Baris and Ceren for Turkish. The Czech, Polish, Icelandic and Turkish voices require Mac OS X 10.5. The other voices require 10.3.9 or later. [Download - form]
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05/01, 1:30am
AT&T Mobile TV with FLO
AT&T and Qualcomm's MediaFLO on Thursday announced that its new AT&T Mobile TV with FLO service is expected to available on the May 4 along with two exclusive handsets: the Vu from LG and the Access from Samsung. First announced in late March, AT&T will offer TV-quality programming with exclusive channels (PIX and CNN Mobile Live) as well as content from from leading news and entertainment brands: CBS Mobile, ESPN Mobile TV, FOX Mobile, NBC 2Go, NBC News 2Go, MTV Networks’ COMEDY CENTRAL, MTV and Nickelodeon.
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04/22, 8:00pm
SplashMoney, SplashID 4
SplashData has announced Mac OS X versions of its SplashMoney personal finance application and SplashID 4 secure password manager. Both applications synchronize with their respective mobile applications. The company also announced a standalone version of SplashMoney for Mac OS X for users that do not have a compatible mobile device. SplashMoney is personal financial manager that can securely record transactions, track account balances, generate reports and budgets, and manage finances. The tool supports most account types, including checking, savings, credit card, cash, asset, liability, and money market accounts.
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04/14, 9:35pm
G-Tech revs storage at NAB
G-Technology on Monday added a new G-RAID Pro drive to its product line, increased the performance and quiet operation of its G-RAID drive, and added RAID 1 protection and eSATA connectivity to its G-RAID mini portable drive. The company's triple interface G-RAID Pro solution features FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 connectivity and storage capacities up to 4TB to handle both the bandwidth and storage-intensive requirements of compressed HD formats. The on-board hardware RAID controller supports both RAID 0 and fail-safe RAID 5 operation with auto-rebuild functionality, and utilizes four hot-swappable 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s disk drive modules.
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04/14, 5:25pm
Sprint Connection Manager
The most common way to access the Internet with a laptop computer is through a Wi-Fi network. Unfortunately, Wi-Fi access isn’t always available. If you can’t find a free hotspot, the next best option is to use a wireless modem for accessing the Internet through a cellular network. Not only are cellular networks more readily accessible than Wi-Fi networks (especially when you’re riding in a car, bus, or train), but cellular networks are still often fast enough for basic web browsing and e-mail access. With a cellular wireless modem (also called a mobile broadband device), a laptop, and a program like Sprint’s Connection Manager software, you can access the Internet wherever you have cellular coverage.
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04/08, 12:50am
Chinese aware of iPhone
Despite a lack of the of a localized version or solid confirmation of plans to do make one, a recent study indicates that 68-percent of all Chinese surveyed showed knowledge of the iPhone, but also discovered that it might not sell very well with its $500 price point. According to The iPod Observer, the price tag was the most frequently mentioned restriction that would prevent people from buying one, but information regarding how many felt this was not readily available.
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04/05, 4:55pm
Videocon wants Moto phones
As Motorola announces its desire to spin off its handset and broadband business as independent public companies, Videocon Industries is first to throw its hat into the ring, filing an expression of interest document for the former of the two departments. According to DeepikaGlobal, there will be a delay in the decision, however, since the acquisition process is required to be cleared by the regulatory body. Videocon chairman and managing director V. N. Dhoot told reporters of its intents.
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04/04, 1:40pm
iPhone price cut
Piper Jaffray Senior Analyst Gene Munster is reiterating his theory that Apple will soon introduce new iPhones capable of operating on 3G networks, using T-Mobile's recent price cut on 8GB phones as his latest evidence. First confirming that T-Mobile cut the price of the 8GB iPhone to EUR99 from EUR399 ($156 from $624) while the price of the 16GB model remains at EUR499, Munster notes that the promotion runs through June 30, and requires a two-year contract and the high end data plan. Munster says this is "a sign T-Mobile is draining its channel ahead of a new iPhone launch."
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04/02, 3:45pm
LG Vu images
The LG Vu, announced yesterday at CTIA, features a full touchscreen that is capable of displaying mobile TV through AT&T's Mobile TV plan. It also delivers 3G access with up to 1.4Mbps real-world download speeds on AT&T's HSPA network. The Vu sports a 2-megapixel camera with autofocus and relies on microSD alone for storage. LG hasn't announced AT&T's pricing, but it said the phone should ship in May, just ahead of the one-year anniversary of its in-house rival, the iPhone. Included below are several shots of the LG Vu from the CTIA 2008 conference in Las Vegas.
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04/01, 11:30am
BenQ T60
BenQ on Friday revealed details of its super-slim T60, measuring just over a third of an inch (8.9mm) thick and packing a 2.2-inch 320x240 resolution LCD screen along with a 3.2-megapixel camera. Software includes a caller black list function that screens out user-selected numbers. BenQ is pitching the GSM phone as a high-quality fashion accessory akin to fountain pens and money clips.
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03/18, 7:50pm
ChordMate
- VPN Tracker 5.1 ($90) IPsec based VPN client for Mac OS X. VPN Tracker 5.1 incorporates client provisioning for WatchGuard devices and lets administrators rollout VPN access for large numbers of users. VPN Tracker 5.1 now supports Watchguard's easy-to-configure Mobile User VPN. The client provisioning functionality in VPN Tracker 5.1 is completely compatible with the current Peak- and Core product lines of WatchGuard. [Download - form]
- MacGPS Pro 7.6 ($50) software that connects GPS receivers and Macs. It works with Garmin and Magellan GPS receivers for transferring Waypoints, Routes, Tracklogs, and GPS satellite Almanacs. It works with many brands of GPS receivers for a realtime display of GPS information on a moving map on the desktop. Version 7.6 adds support for all the Garmin Colorado series of GPS receivers. This new version also stitches together maps that have differing datums and displays the track log name in the track point display window. MacGPS Pro requires Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later (for Garmin USB connection, Mac OS X 10.3.8 or later), works with Leopard.
- German-English dictionary (free) plugin for Mac OS X 10.5 Dictionary.App that provides the complete german-english dictionary of the well-known dict.cc-Site for offline use. Works in Dictionary.App and other core OS X services like Spotlight or Dictionary-Widget. [Download - 125MB]
- ChordMate 1.2 ($15-$40) digital chord book. Organize chords by their musical quality, ease of play, or fret. This release has the ability to Copy/Paste Chord Diagrams: you can create chord charts, mail interesting chord voicings to your friends, and annotate your favorite songs; Capo: You can tell ChordMate to place a capo on any fret and Alternate Tunings: Players who do not use the standard EADGBE tuning can tune ChordMate to match their guitar. [Download - 476KB]
- Entrance 1.2 ($40) a MySQL browser with charts. This version includes a "crosstabs" tool that makes it possible for MySQL users to do pivot table analysis from the desktop. The Entrance Tools menu also includes tools for transposing tables, consolidating table columns, line and curve fitting, and interpolation. The new features will be demonstrated in the Entrance booth at the upcoming MySQL Conference, April 14th-17th, in Santa Clara. [Download - 1.7MB]
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03/18, 4:05pm
iPhone users access media
M:Metrics, a mobile metrics research group, has found the iPhone to be the great game-changer for the wireless industry, saying that it effectively lives up to the hype surrounding the device. Mark Donovan, senior analyst for M:Metrics, said that the iPhone is "compelling consumers to interact with the mobile web," citing "off-the-charts" usage for tasks including text messaging and mobile video. The firm's figures show that 85-percent of all iPhone users access news and other remote information during January.
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03/13, 11:55pm
Google on iPhone, Android
Rich Miner, group manager for mobile platforms at Google, recently spoke at the eComm conference, showing both praise and disdain for the iPhone. According to Yahoo, Miner said that while Apple "did a number of things right first time, first device", the lack of a background environment for applications is a major limitation. He also cited that interpreted languages and multiprocessing apps are not supported, summarizing that "there's a lot of restrictions."
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03/06, 2:10pm
Spore, more for iPhone
Apple today during a meeting covering its iPhone software roadmap announced that games are coming to iPhone, and that the highly anticipated massive multiplayer online title 'Spore' is also coming to the mobile handset. The iPhone features built-in OpenGL/OpenAL support for graphics as well as sound, and game developers can access the handset's Accelerometer for motion-based controls. Travis Boatman -- vice president of worldwide studios for EA Mobile -- took the stage at Apple's town hall meeting to talk about iPhone owners controlling 'Spore' by moving the iPhone in space.
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03/06, 1:20pm
iPhone 'push' mail support
Apple today announced that it is implementing ActiveSync for Exchange mail support on its iPhone. The word came today during a planned meeting at the company's Cupertino campus, where Apple promised to discuss the future of software on the iPhone. ActiveSync for Exchange mail support, or 'push' mail, comes alongside promises of improved security for the mobile handset, according to phonemag. Stanford University has already purchased hundreds of iPhones for faculty and students, according to Apple, and the Cupertino-based company promised built-in Cisco IPsec VPN capability with certificates and identities with WPA2/802.11x. [updated]
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02/26, 6:20pm
Law could unlock iPhone
A new draft law in the U.S. sponsored by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) would require every mobile provider to offer subsidy-free wireless customer equipment, effectively breaking the exclusive deal between Apple and AT&T over the popular iPhone and allowing all owners of that device to subscribe to a wireless carrier of their choice. A hearing is scheduled on the draft bill for tomorrow morning, and a lobbyist for CTIA-The Wireless Association representing the major wireless carriers is already scheduled to speak about the bill.
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02/26, 2:05pm
Steps to ousting Apple
Two research firms -- Park Associates and Entertainment Technology Center at USC -- have released a document urging Hollywood to use Apple's own tactics of offering low-cost TV shows and feature films for mobile media devices in an effort to reap profits on their own, cutting the Cupertino-based company out of the equation. "Hollywood shouldn't let Apple make all the money, especially since they are the ones making the movies," said John Barrett, director of research at Parks Associates. "Judicious use of free mobile content can help drive ticket and DVD sales." The white paper specifically details steps to achieve profitable distribution of mobile content on mobile platforms and devices, without Apple's help.
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02/25, 6:50pm
Panasonic TV phone
Claiming to mimic the design of its Viera line of Plasma televisions on a handheld device, Panasonic has introduced the P905iTV, a new sliding handset featuring "one-segment" mobile TV on Japan's DoCoMo network. The device offers frame conversion technology from 15 frames to 30 frames per second on 3.5 inch full-wide VGA large screen. The new handheld's screen has a contrast ratio ratio of 4000:1 and uses "LCD Artificial Intelligence" which adjusts the brightness of a display automatically and LSI based on "UniPhier" for mobile phone for power saving. The phone also features 3G international roaming and HSDPA, autofocus 2.0 megapixels camera with six-axis image stabilizer and link functions to audio and visual equipment.
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02/21, 2:05pm
EDGE outage, iPhone GO
An EDGE network outage that seems to be based around pre-paid AT&T iPhone GO clients is on its fifth day today, leaving many without mobile internet access. According to Scott Kleinberg of iPhone, Therefore I Blog, users have been experiencing intermittent success surrounded by failure to access the EDGE network. Several have reported switching to the billed service and are back on the network. AT&T has not officially commented on the matter, other than to say they are working on a solution to the problem.
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02/19, 2:15pm
Gameloft iPhone games
Gameloft may have unintentionally let slip about the first downloadable iPhone game during CEO Michel Guillemot's keynote at the GDC Mobile conference. According to UK-based Pocket Gamer, the device was seen in several slides during the keynote presentation, featuring what the publication thinks is a game based on Sega's NiGHTS, or alternately an enhanced version of Pop Superstar. While the news is unofficial, Gameloft is a likely choice as a launch partner for iPhone games, due to the company's success with games on the iPod.
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02/18, 11:45am
Fake iPhone from China
Numerous illegal businessmen in Shenzhen, China are said to be producing counterfeit iPhones and other hot mobile devices alongside alleged 'new model' iPhones at ever increasing rates. Apple's iPhone swept onto the smartphone market after its launch in June of last year, surprising many analysts and rival phone makers alike. Chinese factories counterfeit famous and non-famous brands alike, according to the Epoch Times, and even suffer from software piracy.
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02/15, 3:05pm
Penryn XPS M173
Dell is now offering customers the option to include an Intel Core 2 Duo "Penryn" processor select XPS M1730 notebooks. Users can select the Core 2 Duo T8300 at 2.4GHz or T9300 at 2.5 GHz 45nm CPUs with the 17-inch M1730. The former is included in the unit's price, while the latter is a $125 upgrade. The T7800, running at 2.6GHz, is a $400 upgrade option. Introduced in January, the 45-nanometer Core 2 notebook platform is based on the same Penryn architecture as the desktop Core 2 and Xeon parts. The smaller, denser chips also make room for media instructions and larger caches.
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02/14, 6:05pm
Spyker iPhone-lookalike
Dutch car manufacturer Spyker is allegedly doing its own take on the iPhone, since the mystery device was recently spotted at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona. CNET reports that a Spyker branded iPhone-lookalike was visible behind a glass case, but with a physical keypad, rather than relying on the on-screen keyboard of the iPhone. Spyker did not have any literature available for the device, and merely acknowledged that it is part of the company's product portfolio, saying little more.
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02/14, 9:55am
Google: iPhone searches
Google has announced that Apple's iPhone is dwarfing the competition in Internet searches, with Web surfers using the iPhone 50 times more than any other mobile handset. "We thought it was a mistake and made our engineers check the logs again," Vic Gundotra, head of Google's mobile operations told the Financial Times at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The results are bolstering Google's confidence about generating revenues from the mobile Internet arena.
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02/11, 11:25am
HSPA broadband modems
Sierra Wireless has introduced two new HSPA mobile broadband modems -- the AirCard 885E ExpressCard and Compass 885 USB modem. Both devices boast a small form-factor and offer the latest high-speed mobile broadband technology for use worldwide. Both the AirCard 885E ExpressCard and the Compass 885 USB modem are slated for shipment in mid-2008, and are compatible with Mac as well as Windows systems.
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02/05, 1:45pm
iPhone vs. rivals
Apple ranked third in the global hardware market during the fourth quarter of 2007, according to canalys.com, with its iPhone garnering a whopping 28 percent of the smartphone market. Smart mobile device shipments reached 118 million last year, up 53 percent over 2006, while converged device shipments of smart phones and wireless handhelds rose 60 percent to hit 115 million in 2007. Apple entered the market late in the year, and has thus far shipped only one device.
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01/08, 3:35pm
Yahoo Go 3.0 at CES
Yahoo recently introduced Yahoo Go 3.0 at CES 2008, an update to its suite of internet utilities for mobile devices. Revisions to Yahoo Go were based on customer feedback, such as an updated user interface with many new features, a personalized start page, and support for third-party “widget” plugins. The new interface is designed to be both aesthetically pleasing, while maintaining a high level of functionality, optimizing the small screen on most cell phones. Users can view available components in either the traditional icon view, or the new carousel layout.
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01/03, 2:10pm
LaCie ups drive capacities
LaCie today announced that it has increased the capacity of its All-Terrain Hard Disk as well as its 2.5-inch Little Disk (shown at right) to 320GB. The full-size external drives, designed by Neil Poulton and Sam Hecht, are designed to make backing up and transferring data easy. Simple plug and play allows the drives to interact smoothly with any laptop or desktop computer’'s USB or FireWire port to add increased mobile storage for all-types of digital media. Both the 320GB All-Terrain Hard Disk and 2.5-inch Little Disk (both start from $200) are slated for shipment in late January.
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12/20, 12:20pm
Avaya one-X Mobile in '08
Avaya has announced plans to ship its Avaya one-X Mobile software for iPhone in the first quarter of next year. Avaya one-X Mobile builds on the functionality of Extension to Cellular by providing a family of mobile clients designed to further enhance the productivity of enterprise mobile workers, according to the company. The family of Avaya one-X Mobile clients provides quick access to office phone functionality via an intuitive graphical user interface, and supports a broad array of devices ranging from high-end smart phones to less expensive consumer-oriented phones.
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12/19, 5:00pm
Quicken for iPhone users
Intuit today announced that it will be providing Quicken as an online software service for iPhone and mobile users by January 8th for $3 per month, which it hopes will expand its constantly-growing 14 million user-strong base. Reuters reports that with yearly sales of 1.7 million copies, Quicken has gained 8-percent marketshare, putting it at 80-percent for 2007. The service will be accessible through web browsers on most mobile devices, using the same encryption techniques used for internet banking to keep a user's data safe. The iPhone version, while having a lighter feature loadout than for other devices, will be completely optimized for on-the-go financials on the iPhone's crisp screen.
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12/11, 7:45pm
FixMyMovie.com service
MotionDSP today unveiled H.264 support on FixMyMovie.com, its free online one-click video touchup service. Originally designed for military applications, FixMyMovie.com allows users to upload video footage from digital cameras, mobile phones, or webcams and remove pixelation errors, and the service also supports up-sampling – taking low resolution video and retrieving high definition content from it. MotionDSP opted to support H.264, as the format is quickly becoming the standard for broadcasting high quality HD footage.
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12/11, 4:55pm
Streaming music to iPhone
Simplify Media today released Simplify Media Mobile, a new native application for Apple's iPhone and iPod touch that allows users to access entire music collections from any Wi-Fi hot spot. "Unlike websites and web-streaming, you can listen to remote music and can still surf the Web," the company touts. "Play song after song without having to stop to select a new one." The download is free, and requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later with iTunes 7.x or newer.
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12/10, 10:45am
Popular EU gadgets: iPod
Apple's iPod and iPhone rank among the top gadgets so far this holiday season in Europe, according to a comScore study designed to track the frequency of online searches. The firm studied 20 different models of gadgets from the game console, mobile phone, and portable music player markets across the UK, France, and Germany during the first three weeks of November. The study found that Apple's iPod is the second most popular item with 3.5 million searches, while the company's iPhone is the fifth most searched device.
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12/04, 11:55pm
Unlocked Treo 750
Palm recently announced the availability of unlocked Treo 750 smartphones, shipping with Windows Mobile 6. Previously available only through AT&T, the unlocked smartphone can be used through any GSM service provider. The Treo 750 features a Palm handheld PDA in the same package as a five-band world phone. With Windows Mobile 6 built-in, the device can sync with Exchange Server 2007. Palm is selling the unlocked unit through its retail and online stores for $550.
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12/04, 8:50am
Verizon Joins Google OHA
Verizon today made a surprise move today and joined the recently established Open Handset Alliance, Google's organization for promoting open software development for cellphones and other handhelds. The move will see Verizon use Google's Linux-based, open-source Android operating system on some phones. The software is an "enabler" that will let Verizon move towards an open platform, says company chief Lowell McAdam.
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11/30, 10:40am
Apple, China Mobile spat?
Apple and phone carrier China Mobile have reportedly broken off negotations over the iPhone, according to one publication. Chinese newspaper Southern Daily cites anonymous sources, who claim that talks begun earlier this month have already ended, and that Apple is instead moving on to other cellphone distributors. If Apple successfully forms a deal, iPhones could go on sale in China as soon as next summer, in new retail stores opening in Beijing. The failure of the negotiations is being blamed on revenue sharing; as some observers have noted, revenue sharing is simply not practiced in China, while Apple has so far managed to secure lucrative sharing agreements with other networks such as AT&T.
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11/28, 5:00pm
Orange iPhone, Canada
French iPhone users will have to wait for visual voicemail, and a website is offering Canadians the chance to purchase an unlocked iPhone just in time for Christmas. With the iPhone launch in France just around the corner, Orange has officially noted that visual voicemail services will not be immediately available, that users will have to wait until the end of January to use the function. In addition to this setback, SetteB.IT reports that Orange will also apply a 500MB limit to EDGE data connections, and will limit access to any of the 30,000 Orange hotspots to 10 hours per month, or 100 hours for customers with the upper level plan. SetteB.IT also discovered that Orange plans to sell the unlocked version of the iPhone for 750 euros, 250 euros less than its German counterpart, T-Mobile.
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11/28, 3:30pm
Blockbuster Mobile Video
Blockbuster Video is in the midst of developing a service that would let users bring video downloads more easily to cellphones, company chief James Keys says. The executive notes that his video rental firm is in talks with "virtually all" cellphone manufacturers as well as some software producers to create the service. Its exact function is not described but is believed to involve converting videos downloaded from an online store to a portable form. The decision came as the result of getting help in converting movies to play on a BlackBerry, Keyes says.
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11/27, 12:05pm
Microsoft Backs Verizon
Microsoft on Tuesday was quick to say it would support Verizon's new Any App, Any Device initiative, encouraging companies to produce unlocked phones that would support Verizon's network. As US cellular customers get used to smartphones, they will want the ability to install their own software and the freedom to switch carriers, Microsoft claims. The Redmond-based software maker's Windows Mobile 6 OS technically allows users to install apps signed by Microsoft but is often restricted by Verizon and other carriers, which in the past have regularly blocked voice-over-IP and other programs that would compete with their own services.
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11/26, 2:45pm
Meizu M8 at CES
Meizu's M8 (also known as the MiniOne) could be at least temporarily on display in the same country as the iPhone it copies, allege sources speaking to the Chinese mobile site CNMO. The reported insiders say the touchscreen phone will miss its late 2007 target but that it should see a formal introduction at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas for mid-January, potentially representing the first public demonstration of a working model. The actual launch may occur just a month later, according to the report. The touchscreen is said to be refined and very close in functionality to that of the Apple device the company is attempting to duplicate. Just the software is believed to require the final polish before the release.
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